[Coral-List] Pipes hung in the sea could help planet to 'heal itself' - Independent Online Edition > Climate Change

paul hoetjes phoetjes at gmail.com
Mon Oct 1 18:29:07 EDT 2007


Based on this article alone, I would say this is a typical example of the
arrogance of man, thinking we can make a "planetary scale technofix" without
this also having planetary side effects that we know nothing about as yet.

I have my doubts about the statement "the surface layer of the
ocean...[being] ...increasingly starved of the nutrients such as phosphates
and nitrates", when at least in coral reef areas such as the Caribbean the
reverse seems to be true. Not to mention the increasing occurrence of red
tides and dead zones around the world, linked to increasing nutrient
pollution. The seas are not being starved, they are being polluted by never
before seen amounts of nutrients coming off the land, from fertilizers,
phosphate laden detergents, NOX and SOX air pollution raining down on the
oceans, increasing amounts of desert dusts blown into the atmosphere,
increased run-off, etc. Do we see increased growth of plankton? Yes, in the
red tides for example. Do we want that? I don' think so...

Before anybody suggests these grandiose schemes they should first do a lot
of homework to look at possible side effects, to research whether the
predicted effects really work at such scales or whether it might not instead
engender worldwide red tides causing rotting dead zones that increase rather
than decrease CO2 levels. Or other major changes in the ocean's ecosystems
such as killing off the coral reefs by increasing back ground nutrient
concentrations. Without such preparatory research, which is not referred to
in the article, this idea is just dangerous and irresponsible.

Best,
Paul Hoetjes

On 9/27/07, Tim Hayes <tim at midlandreefs.co.uk> wrote:
>
> Dear Coral-Listers:
>
> I'd be very interested to here views on the implications of the
> following news story
>
> http://environment.independent.co.uk/climate_change/article3001626.ece
>
> Tim Hayes
> Midland Reefs
> www.midlandreefs.co.uk
> www.coralmagazine.co.uk
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
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